How many great 50min quartets ARE there? This quartet (1916) made a great impression on me. The Piano Qnt, the Violin Sonatas, Viola suite1919...everything he did 1916-24 all has that mystical searching quality. Bloch truly had "phases."

I have been sloughing towards trading in the Portland for the Griller. Both the Arabesque and Laurel recordings have reportedly not the best acoustics, terrible for such "big" music.

There is something very dour indeed about qrts 4-5...I listen to them a lot trying to figure out why I don't like them,...huh? No.4 comes the closest to a Shosty-ish-ness for me....maybe good to play with some Rosenberg? I think, IMHO haha, it's generally noted that Bloch's later, slightly harder/drier chamber style lacked the searing mysterical intensity of the 20s (think P Qnt No.2).

The solo violin and viola suites not so much, but looking forward to the cello suites.

To me, Bloch's late style epitomizes what was happening to composers of his generation after the war...a new, "international"(read-U.N.) sound was emerging (Villa-Lobos, Malipiero, Chavez)...their styles seemed to remain the "same", but hardened, overcast. I sense a grey anonymity in the 50s creeping in...que "nationalism" thread...

Still, what are some "brothers" to Bloch's qrt No.1? Magnard, Schmitt Qnt, Schoenberg Op7 Ives No.2? I mean, is the longest quartet up to that time? or what?

The last 50min quartet I heard was Gorecki No3/KronoZZZzzzzzzzz....oh, excuse me, fell asleezzzz......

Is Van Dieren from before 1919? I don't recall Skalkottas No4 being that long (on BIS???). And I guess that's the Simpson No9???-the palindromic/Haydn quartet...but I don't remember any of his others stretching THAT far.

Schoenberg No.1 Op7 comes galloping in around 45min.

and no, I'm not gonna slum for Feldman or LaMonte Young...

I was just really perked by how Bloch sustains the massive canvas. Still, if you know any more ...not to be off topic or anything,heehee...

Skalkottas 4 comes in at about 38 minutes in the BIS recording by the New Hellenic Quartet. This recording is a remarkable achievement: apart from anything else, the ambitious tempi do approach those asked for by the composer. This may not be an important approach for some, but with Skalkottas, it really does make a difference. Those familiar with Nikolaos Samaltanos' recording of the32 piano pieces would probably agree.

This disc (different covers, but the same versions) contains a nice couple of works by Bloch in fine performances. The VC is atmospheric, and on first listen (thanks to the large opening movement) can feel a little gargantuan. It encourages comparison with the imagery of the 1950s Hollywood historical epics with its noticably "exotic" sound, but is a little more esoteric than the soundtracks by Rosza, etc, with an interesting inner logic rather than simply surface effect. Baal Shem is more managable and a nice little piece. The two bonus Serebrier pieces are in a more modern/gloomy idiom, but neither too stylistically extreme or inaccessable.

My one reservation is that I recall the dynamic range being quite large, which might make headphone listening difficult (which you use if I recall correctly?). One solution to this is to get the following disc instead, which I have not heard, but is quite highly rated: